Orwell's Faded Lion

The Moral Atmosphere of Britain 1945-2015

This book confronts the actual direction taken by British society against the background of the high hopes of the generation that survived the war.

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Orwell's Faded Lion traces the history of Britain from the end of the Second World War, during the darkest days of which George Orwell wrote The Lion and the Unicorn, calling for a British revolution, to the present. The book confronts the actual direction taken by British society against the background of the high hopes of the generation that survived the war. The book also considers Britain alongside its European neighbours, drawing upon personal experiences of living and travelling widely in Europe, as well as experience of left-wing party politics and of the Northern Ireland situation in the 1980s.

"In his overview and analysis of that period, Anthony James models his approach and style on Orwell. And, while he doesn't chance his arm at forecasting the future as much or as confidently as his inspiration, he captures something of the polemical style and the characteristic savaging of his targets."

"Orwell's Faded Lion… is a tough, gritty, honest and, at times, bleak overview of Britain’s political morass since the end of the Second World War. Although what accounts for its most readable quality (I couldn’t help but read the entire book in the best part of two sittings) is its clear and concise, rightful apprehension of the truth… [It] makes for a thunder-bolt of an awakening call."